Cracker Barrel Old Country Store — Restaurant in Albany

A horrible experience that would call for some reorganization before this place is shut down. I would give my experience a zero rating if it were an option! I called an order in for pick up at 5:52pm and walked out with food at 7:16pm. I arrived to pick up my order about 6:18. I paid for the order and left a tip and waited for my order to come out. At 6:24, I was told by the Server, that it took 25 minutes to prepare chicken and dumplings and I told her it should not be long then. While I was waiting I observed several things that left me flabbergasted. One girl in the front was constantly restocking items. The cashier acted like it was a game or playtime. She was constantly leaving the check out area to talk to the girl restocking and ignoring people forming a line to check out. This happened on several occasions, totally uncalled for since this seemed to be the only thing she did. As soon as I paid for my order, the phone rang and she was the only one not doing anything and she refused to answer it. The phone continued to ring until a guy waiting on a customer stopped and answered the phone. (I later found out this guy was the manager.) The Server brought out several more pick up orders from the kitchen and continued to pass me by. I still waited. At about 6:40, the Server came out and said they were still waiting on the dumplings. I asked her if she knew how much longer and she said “they” keep giving me different stories. She asked me if I wanted to continue to wait or order something different. I told her I had sick family at home that ordered chicken and dumplings and that’s what they wanted to eat. So now I’m standing in the store part but close to the door so I can see a portion of the dining area and the traffic in and out of the kitchen. There is a waiter that can not keep his pants up. I’m waiting to see them drop at anytime. He is having a hard time pulling up his pants and carrying out food trays and to-go boxes. I would think this would be a sanitary issue in a restaurant and there would be a certain dress code required. The next time the Server came out, it was about 6:50 and she still didn’t have my order. I asked her what was going on and she told me that there was only one person prepping and she said she knew that wasn’t an excuse and she was sorry for the wait. I asked to speak to the Manager on duty. He came out and I recognized him as being one of the guys working at the register when I came in initially. He told me a story about the hot box being out and it hadn’t been fixed all day and it was still out. He said he knew that wasn’t an excuse but he would refund my money. I mentioned that all that information should have been told me when I initially placed the order. He refunded me the money for the chicken and dumpling meal only. I said that is it? He said that I had misunderstood what he meant when he said a refund and said he would remember my face and I would get two meals free the next time I came in. I told him that after my experience, there would probably not be a ”next” time. Then, he refunded the remainder of my order price only. He said my order would be out in about 15 minutes. I asked him if the other 2 meals had been prepared and would be cold and hard since I was waiting on the chicken and dumplings. He assured me they would not. They would be fresh. I did get my meals and had asked for extra biscuits and walked out about 7:16. I put the meals in a cooler bag and drove about 15 to home. When I got home, the chicken and dumpling meal was hot and the other two meals were warm. But they were all enjoyed! Not sure it was worth the hour and twenty-five minute wait. I sure hate I had this horrible experience. I have always enjoyed Cracker Barrel for their meals, service, and...

JOSEPH, JOSEPH, JOSEPH!!! You are the shining beacon of the Albany restaurant. You are the absolute best and the number one reason that I come so often. I have been coming for many many years and the service provided is always above bar. I know when you are in the midst, my experience will be exceptional. We had the excellent, amazing, awesome, SHANA today and her skills were beyond impressive. She was attentive, quick, knowledgeable and she provided suggestions to make our experience even better. She kept our table clean and our glasses filled. She was very refreshing and friendly. Her smile and conversation kept the mood at a 10. Cracker Barrel has many great servers to choose from when you go but I have to shine a light on Shana today. There are many restaurants in Albany but Cracker Barrel is my favorite hands down. I wrote a review years ago about the great service and consideration provided by Joseph and because of that one experience I have become a regular, more than four times a month. The food is always fresh and hot and delicious. The portion sizes are great and there are a lot of yummy selections. The entire place is always clean and the bathrooms are clean and smell nice. The store always has a lot of interesting things for all ages. My grandchildren always get something on each visit. The breakfast is all day and always right on time. I will miss the tator tot shareable but they always rotate in new and fresh menu items. I do like the new logo. It is new and modern and I appreciate that the food and service is still the best around town. If you ever want to have just a great homey and good feeling with top of the line service then Cracker Barrel is the only place to choose. Go in and say hello to Joseph and tell him I sent you. You will not regret it,...

The entire dining experience seems to have started when we requested that we not be seated near the dining entrance. The hostess seemed little baffled, but said if we didn't mind waiting she would seat us away from the entrance, and said we would have to wait for another area to be cleared, and our waiter would require some time. A young waiter named Sharmiir finally came. He asked me what I wanted, and I gave him my order; the second one in our party ordered the smokey grilled chicken breasts. The waiter asked if he was sure he wanted it grilled or fried. Our party member read directly from the menu "Smoked grilled chicken breast and provide him with the sides. We couldn't determine why he asked whether he wanted it fried or grilled. Did our request not to be seated near the dining entrance have something to do with it, I don't know! He came back to our table after putting in our order and said with emphasis, y'all are chugging down those Arnold Palmer before your food, and there ain't no refills. I asked since when and that I have gotten refills in Conyer, Ga Cracker Barrel, a few months ago. However, if there was a policy change, fine, I expected to be made aware of the update of the change in a civil way. I want to finally applause, the kind manager who was put in such a predicament. He could not have been more apologetic; he convinced us to accept the meals prepared even though we had lost our appetite and said no thanks to the food because of the horrible service. News flash, guys - The kindly manager assured us that there are still refills on one of my favorite drinks, the Arnold Palmer. Sorry for the lengthy review, but we know there should be an accountability for poor service just as there should be rewards for...